Moments in Heleus
by Prophet McGee
Summary: A collection of headcanon to serve as a companion piece to my re-telling, Andromeda.
1. Moment I

**A/N:** So this is my first jump back into writing in... quite some time. Think of this mostly as a companion to my upcoming re-telling of Andromeda, all of the little moments that I won't put in to the big documents while trying to plough through the major content. With that said, criticism is always welcome so long as it is constructive.

Disclaimer - Mass Effect: Andromeda is the property of Bioware and its affiliates. I own only my Ryders. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Moment I**

 **Or, Rumination**

Ruminate - verb (w/o object): To meditate or muse; ponder

* * *

Cryo was quiet. It wasn't quite a hub of activity (since the impact with the Murder Cloud, at least), but there was usually some noise, a bustle and quasi-vivacity about it as soon-to-be colonists were brought out of their frozen dreams. The pace had slowed down since contact with the unknown phenomenon, and then the "incident" on Habitat 7. Word had spread like wildfire. The Pathfinder was dead. All hail the Pathfinder.

No-one dared to disturb his successor.

Scott sat beside Sara's bed with his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. She'd been reposed with her hands clasped together just below her sternum, not a hair otherwise out of place. Had he not been able to discern the gentle rise and fall of her chest, he would have thought her dead. Things might well end that way, regardless. He'd need to remember to thank Doctor T'Perro for ensuring Sara's survival.

His frame expanded with his inhalation and shrank as the breath was expelled. What was he going to tell her? Dad, Hab 7, hell, Heleus in general; all of it FUBAR in ways that they couldn't yet comprehend. And Scott smack in the storm's eye. Infantile as it was, he railed against it all from behind his eyes. If only he had been quicker to realize the danger. If only he and Dad hadn't been standing in the way of the wave that launched them from the alien installation. If only he hadn't destroyed his helmet.

If only his father had lived.

The burn in his sockets surprised even Scott. Yes, he had wanted Ryder Senior to live. Despite the anger, the old and faded acceptance, all the absences, every justification Scott could conjure for hating his old man, Alec should be there with him. With _them_. Heleus was supposed to be a fresh start for all involved. Didn't that include an absentee father and his children? Had his father entertained the possibility of _tabula rasa_? Would they have even accepted him?

But he wasn't with them; alien machinery had cured an atmosphere and destroyed the remnants of a family. Mom was six-hundred years gone. And his sister, his twin, his best friend, maybe clinging by a thread. The doctors had been specific in their own way, but it was all Chinese to a man fluent in Latin. Another inhalation. Exhale. Breathe, Scott. Just keep breathing.

 _I could really use your company right now._

They were supposed to see Heleus together. Exploration. Discovery. First contact. Shenanigans. Now Sar would have to settle for stories and armor-cam footage. It was akin to ordering prime ribeye and getting rump roast. Though he doubted she'd have wanted to be around for Hab 7. Gods knew that he wouldn't enjoy relating the story. Still, Scott wanted her with him if only for a badly-needed dose of normality.

 _Adversor et admorsus_.

The old Latin phrase, which had been an inspiration to him since his early Alliance days, came to mind unbidden. He lacked his father's training, both N7 and Initiative. None of the vision the old bastard had had. The Nexus an unknown, one golden world scrapped, his father dead, sister comatose, strange alien death cloud all around, a wounded _Hyperion_ looking to him now, and a partridge in a pear tree.

He had Liam, Cora, and SAM. Plus himself. In short, everything he was getting.

 _Oppose and bite_. More accurately in Scott's case, _don't stop_.

He'd had a shit hand dealt him, no two ways about it. But it was his, and he couldn't mope. It was going to hurt. It would probably get worse. It all might go up in smoke. But if he didn't do anything, it most certainly would. He wouldn't- couldn't- leave Sara to the mercies of a new galaxy where she woke up and he wasn't around, much less every other human colonist. The mere thought was monstrous.

A chirp from his omni alerted him to a new message. It was Cora. They were nearing the Nexus. His two hours of "rest" were up.

Scott closed his eyes, inhaled once, deeply, held the breath for two heartbeats, and then let it out. His mind clear, he looked up again. His sister, his best friend, still lay as statuesque as before. Neither a step forward nor back. Still alive and treading water, just like the rest of them.

Doc Carlyle came up as Scott was standing.

"Take care of her." Harry nodded.

"She's got my undivided attention, Scott. Go on." _Scott_. Not _Pathfinder_. Maybe the latter, but more importantly the former. People got caught up in titles too easily. The thought settled in his mind and drew a small, slightly crooked grin where his mouth was. He lay a hand over Sara's and squeezed gently.

"Stay alive." Then he nodded to Harry, gave his sister one final, inscrutable look, and walked out of Cryo.

The Pathfinder was needed.


	2. Moment II

**A/N** : Just another bit of headcanon for y'all. Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Mass Effect: Andromeda is the property of Bioware and its affiliates. I own only my Ryders. That said, enjoy.

* * *

 **Moment II**

Or, Descry

Descry: verb (used with object) - (1) to see (something unclear or distant) by looking carefully; discern; espy - (2) to discover; perceive; detect.

* * *

Heleus had not turned out to be the paradise the Hyperion's colonists had thought. They had had no doubt that there would be challenges, but the training and orientation had mostly covered contingencies associated with colonization, first contact, and basic survival, to name a few. But the possibility of failing? The mere thought that everything they'd signed up for disappearing in smoke or having never existed in the first place? It was a laughable concept.

The bizarre energy cloud that the ark ran into was their first taste of just how far down the rabbit hole they really were. Nothing could have prepared the skeleton medical, engineering, and command crew for near-catastrophic failure of their spacefaring home mere _hours_ into Andromeda. Hope scattered to ash in the wake of that incident.

Then the Pathfinder went down to Habitat 7, and another one came back. They almost lost the junior Ryder in the process, too.

It was enough to make Harry Carlyle feel old beyond his years.

He was sat in his tiny cubicle adjacent to Cryo, the closet darkened in favor of the light of his console. A few datapads cluttered the desktop, mostly notes concerning the various patients he'd had since arrival. The data scrolling along his terminal was of far greater importance, though.

It was everything on file regarding Alec Ryder.

Cora and Liam had been the ones to find Scott passed out, unconscious despite the replacement bucket on his head and a helmet-less Pathfinder nearby. Harry's obligations as a man of medicine had compelled him to care for Alec's son. But he would never be able to get the image of his best friend lying motionless in eternal sleep.

Few knew of the decades-long association between the former N7 and the good doctor. Ellen had introduced them, barely a doctor herself and very new in her dalliance. Truthfully, the gruffness had initially put Harry as off as everyone else. But he'd stuck around long enough to be shown that that was just how Alec was: as unbending as bedrock and set in his ways.

That same sense of solidity had formed the cornerstone of their relationship, and in time Harry had come to see Alec in that treasured way so few were allowed. First as acquaintances, then friends, and then best friends. Alec, by his very nature, hated asking for any sort of help. The day that Harry had found him coming to him regarding Ellen had been when he realized just how much trust the latter placed in both his abilities as a doctor and their friendship.

The thought made him smile a bit. Life as an honorary member of the Ryder clan had had its benefits. Ellen had a standing consultation contract with him for her research, so they were daily in touch. This, in turn, had allowed for the growth between himself and Alec. And he had gotten invited to most of the family events, even helped raise the twins. "Uncle Harry" they called him, not as much nowadays but never any less fondly. The smile widened, then turned caliginous.

Things had been so hectic, they hadn't even had time for anything approaching a funeral. "Dig a pit and throw my corpse in. I won't need anything else," had been Alec's advice when Harry witnessed the drawing up of his will. The bastard had even had the foresight to know that he'd go down swinging. He took a moment to massage his temples. God, he didn't want to follow that line of thought. Especially not while both of the twins were out.

Stars... What would he even tell them?

Scott was still sleeping after the incident planetside. SAM had assured all involved that he would survive, but the data that the medical staff was getting, the implications all pointed to Scott being irrevocably tied to the AI. They still didn't know how or the extent to which it had been done, but SAM advised against reversing the process. Doing otherwise would mean his death. And Sara; fierce, devoted, brilliant Sara. Still out cold, still drifting.

Still unaware.

The Ryder twins, despite their dizygotic nature, could not be more alike. Best friends their whole lives, incredibly intelligent, friendly, always pushing the boundaries without crossing them. Sara had always been the first to snuggle up to Harry when he'd been babysitting for Ellen and Alec. And now his honorary niece was in a coma.

Hab 7 had brought things into glaring perspective for Harry. He was not a young man anymore, gliding down the far side of his prime. And Alec's death and what had happened with both twins had shaken him far more than he liked to admit. The last few hours reviewing old data and visiting fond memories were proof enough of that. As much as he'd like to be there for Scott while he was off pathfinding, he didn't really think he had that in him. The knowledge was not as devastating as he would have thought. So there was only one thing he could really do: Look after Sara. It would be both something off the other Ryder's mind and redemption for failing Alec. And by all that was sacred, he would not dishonor his friend's memory.

But that left Scott out a medic. The answer was so unbelievably simple he could have smacked himself. Harry keyed up his omni and selected the appropriate frequency. A familiar face answered after a moment.

"Hello, Harry. What can I do for you?" He gave her a little smile.

"Hey Lexi. Do you have a few minutes? I need to talk with you."


End file.
